Potion Pandemonium
by Cakedecorator
Summary: Alya, Juleka, and Rose have noticed how sad Marinette's been since losing her husband, Adrien. So, they decide to play matchmaker for their designer friend! And who's the lucky guy they choose? Juleka's brother, Luka! But when the trio decides to try out a love potion on the two of them, it works a little TOO well. Can the trio undo the damage? Rated T. Adult, No Miraculous AU.


**Another Lukanette story! This time it's a one-shot, and it's based on "Hearts and Hooves Day" from Season 2 of "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic."**

 **Basically, Marinette is Adrien Agreste's widow and the owner of her own fashion label. Seeing her so depressed and wanting her to be happy, Alya, Juleka, and Rose decide to play matchmaker and find someone for her! And guess who they choose to hook Marinette up with? Why, Juleka's brother Luka, of course! But when they dabble in love potions… Let's just say it goes about as well as one can expect.**

 **Shout out to Fangirling Heart for her help on this one!**

* * *

 _The day was dark, dingy, and rainy. Thunder and lightning was rumbling and flashing. A young woman of about 23 years of age was sitting in a chair next to a bed in a room in the most prestigious hospital in Paris. She had short hair of black ink and eyes of bluebells, which were wet with tears that were saturating her fair skin. Her left hand had a wedding band on the ring finger. She looked a bit sick, but when compared to the patient in the bed, she not even close to how sick he was._

 _"Adrien, please! Stay with me!" Marinette pleaded, holding the hand of the patient with both of hers._

 _Adrien was around her age, with hair like the sun and eyes as green as Peridot. However, those eyes were looking weak. The man was hooked up to life support, had an oxygen mask on his face. He was wearing a matching wedding band and letting his wife hold his hand._

 _The most capable and renowned doctors were near the equipment and standing by to make sure he would survive._

 _"Bugaboo," Adrien said, hoarsely and weakly. "This is the end of the line for me…"_

 _"Don't say that!" Marinette begged. "Don't leave me, Adrien!"_

 _"My lady," Adrien said, a weary smile on his face. "You knew that our marriage would never last long…"_

 _"Can't you do something?!" Adrien's father, Gabriel, asked the doctors._

 _He was an older man with icy blue eyes, glasses, and pale blond hair that was combed back._

 _"I'm sorry, but his illness has progressed too far." The lead doctor replied, looking over the chart._

 _Adrien had been diagnosed with an incurable disease when he was about twenty years old. And it came as a complete shock. He seemed perfectly healthy to the average person. The only reason he went to the doctor to get a checkup was because he was, in his words, "Feeling too off for his own good," which included constant dizziness, lack of appetite, and sluggishness. When the doctors gave him the prognosis, it was like someone dropped an anvil on his head._

 _He and Marinette had been dating for a while prior, and they were so happy together. When he found out the news and told Marinette, she looked like she was about to faint. Realizing that he only had a short time left with her, he wanted to make her dreams come true to the best of his ability. And so, he relentlessly insisted that he and Marinette get married immediately._

 _Marinette objected, insisting that they were too young, but Adrien would not let up. It was one of his life goals to someday get married to the woman who he would eventually come to love. And since his clock was running down, he wanted to fulfill that dream ASAP. And his father stood by his son's desires and wanted to help him. Thus, Gabriel also demanded that Marinette marry Adrien to give him happiness for what remaining time he had._

 _Marinette, wanting her beloved boyfriend to be happy, conceded. She would marry Adrien, no questions asked._

 _They then told Marinette's folks, Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng. At first, they were against it for the exact same reason as Marinette: they felt that their daughter and Adrien were too young. But when they heard about Adrien's medical issues, they yielded._

 _The wedding was held at city hall. It was small and intimate. They did not want to make a big deal out of the affair because of the reasoning behind it. The only ones they had for witnesses were Gabriel, Tom, and Sabine._

 _They knew it would only last for so long. At some point, Adrien had to walk with a cane, could only go for such a limited amount of time, and even then, it was hard for him to get out of bed. The only source of joy he had in his last few years was his beloved wife, who insisted on spoiling him with good food, companionship, and any and all time she could spare for him._

 _But now the time had come for Adrien to leave her in this world._

 _"Marinette… I love you so much, and I always will, but… You have to move on," Adrien said, weakly. The blonde was taking his last breaths, and he wanted to make sure that he told Marinette to be happy when he was gone._ _"Don't let my passing keep you from finding love with another."_

 _"Why are you saying this_ now?! _You're talking like you're about to die right this second!" Gabriel shouted, angry and scared._

 _He wanted his son to live. Tragically, though, and he and Marinette would not admit it, but they knew Adrien was right. His hourglass was running low._

 _"Because I'm going," Adrien said. "There's no point in fighting it now."_

 _"His heart rate is slowing down! His breathing is labored and weak!" One of the doctors said._

 _"Father… Thank you for allowing me and Marinette to be married," Adrien spoke to his dad, before turning to his wife. "My sweet Princess…"_

 _"Adrien, please!" Marinette begged, her eyes wide and tears streaming down her face. "Stay with me!"_

 _Adrien's eyes slowly began to close, and then he murmured, "Au revoir… Mon amour…"_

 _Adrien's eyes closed, his grip on Marinette's hands loosened, and the heartrate monitor started to flatline._

 _"He's… Gone." The doctor said solemnly._

 _Marinette could not help herself. As the nurse unhooked the life support machine, Marinette collapsed on top of her husband and started sobbing her eyes out. Gabriel felt his daughter-in-law's pain and placed a hand on her shoulder._

* * *

 _Four Years Later..._

It was evening, and there were three girls sitting around a table at a nice bar for young adults. One of them had dark skin, hazel eyes, a beauty mark above her eyebrow, wearing glasses, and had shoulder-length, dark red hair with lighter tips. She was wearing business casual attire in orange and a bit of black and white mixed into it.

One of the two girls that was sitting with her had long, black hair with purple tips. Her forelock covered her right eye and she was wearing lavender lipstick. She was wearing primarily black and lace, with some purple and mint green accents in her attire. She had her fingernails painted grey. She also had spiked choker bracelets and black wedge sandals. Her shirt had one missing sleeve, and it revealed that her arm had a few tattoos in many varieties.

The other girl had blonde hair in a pixie cut and had big blue eyes. She also had an entirely _pink_ ensemble, with a white undershirt.

"Where's Marinette, Alya?" The raven-haired girl asked the redhead.

"Oh, Juleka. You know Marinette," The glasses-wearing red head said with a shrug. "Can't keep an appointment to save her life."

"That's true," Juleka replied, giggling. "Oh, Marinette, what will we do with you?"

"Marinette will be on time for an appointment when pigs fly." Rose joked.

The girls all shared a laugh. Then, the door to the bar opened up with a bang. The group turned to the doorway to see Marinette, wearing business casual attire in red and black. Her skirt had a ladybug theme to it, as it was red with black spots.

"Marinette, over here!" Alya said, as she waved Marinette over to their table.

"Sorry I'm late!" Marinette said, as she ran over to the table and slumped into a chair. "My client just _would not_ stop prattling on!"

"It's fine. You're here now, and that's what's important," Alya said. "Have a drink?"

"I could _really_ use a martini right now," Marinette sighed. "Wait, where are Alix and Myléne?"

"Couldn't make it." Juleka said.

"Okay, then." Marinette said.

"So, what's new girls?" Alya said, changing the subject.

"Well, nothing really," Rose said. "Juleka's tattoo shop has been getting a lot of customers lately. She's pretty popular."

"That's great," Marinette said, delighted for Juleka. "Rose, how about your pet-friendly flower shop?"

"Sales are up, too," Rose squealed. "Any luck on your side, Alya?"

"Everything's fine. The higher-ups are recognizing my skills and talents in the industry and I've heard gossip about raising my salary," Alya boasted, before turning to Marinette. "And how's our resident designer?"

"The business is booming! Ever since I posted wedding dresses on the website, I've been getting dozens of phone calls from brides!" Marinette said, happy at her new success.

Everyone gave her deadpan expressions. Marinette looked at her friends before asking, "What?"

"Girl, we were asking you about your _personal_ business, not your _business_ business," Alya said, crossing her arms. "I mean, Myléne and Ivan are still going steady, I'm getting the vibe that Nino's about to pop the question, and Kim has _just_ asked out Ondine! Good thing too, since Chloé would _never_ give him the time of day."

"Oh," Marinette said, deflating. "I'm still single."

Alya and the others' faces fell. They all knew the whole story between Marinette and Adrien. They were aware of how devastated Marinette was when he passed away. Alya especially.

"Marinette, don't be afraid to put yourself back out there," Rose murmured. "Didn't Adrien tell you to move on?"

Marinette nodded with a hum, and the girls could only give her sad, pitying looks.

"Girl, it's been _four years_ ," Juleka murmured. "Adrien would want you to be happy, even if it is with another man."

"But... I'm not..." Marinette began, about to cry.

"Nononononono! No tears! No tears!" Rose begged, as she put down her strawberry daiquiri and ran over to Marinette. "Don't cry!"

"I... I'm fine," Marinette said, sighing sadly. "Anyway..."

Just then, her phone started going off. Looking at the device, Marinette sighed and said, "Just a second. I gotta take this call."

Marinette stood up and left the building, leaving her friends there. They were worried about Marinette.

"If anyone deserves to be happy with a great guy, it's Marinette," Rose said sadly. "Especially after what she's been through."

Juleka and Alya agreed with the blonde. They all wanted Marinette to find a new love. Just then, Alya smiled widely and looked at the others.

"Um... you okay?" Juleka asked, not really liking the look Alya was giving them. "You look like you just got the scoop of the century."

"I'm _beyond_ okay, girls! I just had an idea! We're going to find a man for Marinette!" Alya said, slamming her hands against the table.

"Hey, that _is_ a good idea!" Rose said. "Playing matchmaker?! I'm down for it!"

"What did I tell you?" Alya replied, laughing a bit.

"Okay." Juleka said, a small smile on her face.

The girls put their arms in and they all collectively said, _"Three, two, one... Operation: A Man for Marinette!"  
_

* * *

The next day while Marinette was at work, the girls took to the streets of Paris, looking around for the right man for their friend.

"We can't just pick out a man at random for her," Alya said, taking the lead with her friends. "Marinette's one of the best women in the world. She deserves to have one of the _best_ bachelors in Paris as her new boyfriend."

"Agreed." Rose said, a huge smile on her face.

The trio stopped in their tracks and looked around.

Alya looked at the girls, and started to sing. A thought bubble appeared. It pictured Marinette working on a dress and smiling. Alya sang, _"Marinette is sweet and kind. She's the best friend that we could hope for!_ _"_

Alya stopped her song, ran to a light post, held on to it, and swung around. She put a hand over her eyes, trying to enhance her vision and looking around.

 _"The perfect bachelor, you and I must find!"_ Alya sang, as Rose and Juleka were bobbing their heads from side to side, going along with Alya's plan. _"One to really make her heart soar!"_

Alya jumped off the post and let her voice carry around the town. The trio then split up and started to examine their options.

 _"But... This one's too young!"_ Alya sang, pointing out a teenage boy who was playing at the arcade and having the time of his life. She noted a middle-aged man who was playing with what could be assumed was his granddaughter. _"This one's too old!"_

Alya walked around and saw someone their age walk out of the pharmacy. He was carrying a bag o cold medicines. He had an ice pack on his head, was sweating, and just looked really sick.

 _"He clearly has a terrible cold."_ Alya sang, and just then the young man sneezed.

 _"This guy's too silly,"_ Juleka sang, as she watched a man who was making _way_ too many jokes and cracking everyone up. Marinette liked a guy who made her laugh, but not to _that_ extreme. Juleka then turned around and leaned against the wall where one of the Grand Paris hotel butlers was working. _"He's way too uptight."_

"I say!" He said, gently pushing Juleka away while getting back to work.

 _"Well, nothing's wrong with this one. He seems alright~!"_ Alya sang, as she saw a man around Marinette's age, with tan skin, brown hair in a bun, a soul patch, and sitting on a bench.

Just then, a girl with brown eyes and blue hair sat next to him and the two of them shared a hug. Rose, a pensive smile on her face, sang, _"His girlfriend sure thinks so."_

Alya shuddered, embarrassed.

 _"How 'bout this one?"_ Alya asked, as she saw a man their age, but he was wearing a lot of bright, sparkling clothes. The sun was beating down on him and reflecting the sunlight off his clothes. He was even wearing sunglasses.

 _"He's much too flashy."_ Juleka complained in song, as she covered her eyes and tried to look away. This man's outfit was pretty dazzling and it was really hard for Juleka to look at - _literally_.

Rose was running after one of the more athletic men in town. Thinking he could very well be Marinette's ideal match, Rose sang aloud, _"He might do!"_

But then he stepped in a puddle. A huge splash of water and mud soaked Juleka and Alya, while Rose covered her face, thus sparing her from the muck.

 _"If he weren't so splashy!"_ Juleka and Alya shouted in song, as the girls started wiping themselves off. They were not amused by this, and Rose gave a sheepish smile.

 _"Too short."_ Juleka sang, watching as a short-statured man was stacking crates of fruit at the outdoor market.

 _"Too tall."_ Alya sang and shook her head. She had to bend backwards, because the man she saw was at least three feet taller than Marinette. Not necessarily a good height match for their friend.

 _"Too clean."_ Juleka sang, as one man was going through way too many hand wipes. Every time he touched soil or got a small amount of dirt on him, he either used a sanitary wipe or ducked into a shower. A germaphobe, in a way.

 _"Too smelly!"_ Rose said, holding her nose. One man was just working with garbage, cleaning it, sorting it, and getting dirty. The smell of the waste

 _"Too strangely obsessed with making jelly."_ Alya sang, watching a jam and jelly-maker thoroughly engrossed in his work. It was like the obsession was unhealthy. Creeped out, Alya ran back to Rose and Juleka.

They all sighed collectively, annoyed.

 _"I don't think that we're mistaken,"_ Juleka sang, as she gestured over to the couples all around Paris. _"It seems all the good ones are taken."_

 _"I really feel that at this rate, we won't get Marinette a date!"_ Alya sang, as the girls kept going around town and trying to find someone to set Marinette up with.

 _"Don't wanna quit and give up hope!"_ The girls sang out loud, walking through the park, and soon came upon a bench and saw someone sitting there.

He was a young man who was older than them by about two years. He had black hair with the tips dyed Caribbean blue, blue eyes and was wearing black stud earrings. He was wearing a blue jacket with a white shirt underneath, black ripped jeans, high-top sneakers, and had several wristbands. He was playing a black and white guitar and basically minding his own business. It was Luka, Juleka's brother.

"Doing anything special with anyone today?" Juleka quietly asked.

Alya and Rose were huddled together and Alya was whispering in song, _"Oh please, oh please, oh please say-"_

"Nope." Luka said with a shrug and smile.

The girls gasped. Juleka gave a nod before walking away.

Alya dragged the girls away a small distance and Alya sang, _"We did it girls! We've found the one!"_

Alya gestured over to Luka. A heart formed around him. It was basically a pink outline that was tracing the underside of a tree branch, a few leaves on the ground, and the older man was none the wiser.

 _"Who will send Marinette's heart aflutter!"_ Alya sang, as the girls did a small ring-around-the-rosy with each other, in sync with the music.

But Juleka stopped in her tracks, causing Rose and Alya to stumble. Juleka sang, _"Wait a minute. Lemme get this straight. Are you talkin' 'bout my brother?!"_

* * *

The girls soon went back to the houseboat that she shared with Luka. The Couffaine siblings were used to living on the river because they had lived on a boat their whole lives. They could not imagine any other kind of living situation.

As Luka was on the deck, tuning up his guitar, Juleka and the others were watching from nearby. They were on the staircase that led below deck and keeping an eye on Luka.

As Luka strummed a few instruments, he got the feeling he was being watched and turned to the deck stairs. The girls ducked, trying to stay out of the older man's sight. Luka shrugged and went back to working with his instrument.

"Come on, Juleka! Alya has it right!" Rose said. The trio peeked out from below the stairs again, all with smiles on their faces. "Your brother's the ideal candidate to be Marinette's new beau!"

Luka was working with some of the speakers and looking through his music sheets to figure out what to play, just for the fun for it.

"He's drop-dead handsome, to start with! Luka's also really nice, and he and Marinette have something in common: Jagged Stone is their favorite singer!" Rose squealed, listing off all the reasons Luka would be Marinette's perfect match.

Luka seemed to be oblivious to the fact that _he_ was the topic of their conversation, though. He heard hushed, womanly voices from behind him, and then he wondered out loud, "What are those three doing...?"

However, he shrugged it off and went back to work. It was probably nothing. He assumed it was something about "Woman Talk," so he just decided to let it go.

"There's more: whenever Luka's nearby, Marinette's brain short-circuits and then she winds up rambling the same way she did with Adrien." Alya insisted, noticing something else.

Juleka's eyes widened when Alya pointed this out. They all knew that when it came to Marinette and her crushes, babbling and stammering around boys was a tell-tale sign. Marinette could get a coherent thought out around Luka, but it still took a few moments of being tongue-tied at first.

Marinette and Luka first met through Juleka. It was about eighteen months after Adrien had passed away. The girls were out at a restaurant just to talk and catch up, and Juleka had brought Luka along. True to smitten Marinette form, she started stuttering around him. But Luka took it in stride and managed to make conversation with her. After a few music notes on his guitar, Marinette was able to speak clearly and they soon hit it off.

"I can't believe that I forgot about all of that! But Marinette seems a little more at ease with Luka." Rose stated, thumping herself on the forehead.

"That's true," Juleka said, crossing her arms. "And Luka always seems to give her affectionate looks when he's with us, too. If that doesn't say "crush," I don't know what does."

"See? They're perfect for each other!" Alya said, as she crossed her arms and nodded, confident that this would go well.

"Yep! Those two go together like tea and croissants!" Rose said, clapping her hands.

"I want to agree with you, but the problem is that Luka's not the most emotionally open person in the world." Juleka murmured, as she shut the door to the deck stairs, and led her friends downstairs. They started walking around the room.

"You're right," Rose stated, understanding Juleka's point. "Luka does a better job letting his music do the talking instead of his mouth."

"Exactly," Juleka said. " _And_ he's pretty good at reading peoples' feelings. So it's unlikely that he'll ask Marinette out."

"Who said _he_ had to make the first move?" Alya quipped.

"Explain?" Juleka asked, not really following Alya's suggestion.

"Simple: we get Marinette and Luka together and then set the mood. And if Marinette's feeling bold enough, maybe _she'll_ ask _him!_ " Alya stated, giving the girls the idea she had.

"Sounds perfect!" Rose squealed, delighted with playing matchmaker.

"Then let's get to it!" Alya said.

The girls gave a group high-five and then they all huddled up. Alya started whispering and talking about her idea. Rose and Juleka were listening intently and hoping that everything went well.

* * *

Later in the park, the girls were setting up a romantic picnic for Marinette and Luka. Rose was working on putting up pink chiffon fabric in the branches to make a canopy. Alya was setting up the picnic blanket, some plates, and had the basket ready. Since she learned how to cook from her mom, Alya decided to make some food for the picnic, too. She had Juleka swing by the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie to get some bread, too.

Juleka soon came back with a few baguettes in paper bread bags. She placed the bread down on the blanket, and noticed that there was a vase on the blanket.

"Hold on. Where are the flowers?" Juleka asked, noticing the vase was empty.

"Right here!" Rose said, as she placed some pink roses in the vase. "Perfectly pink!"

Alya immediately looked around and saw that Marinette was coming from one side of the park, and then Luka coming from the other side. Marinette had her fashion bag with her while Luka had his guitar case on his back.

"Fashion designer at 10 o'clock, guitar-player at 2 o'clock!" Alya told the girls. "In your positions, girls!"

"This is going to be perfect! Marinette is going to have the best day ever!" Rose squealed, delighted at the prospect.

"With her new boyfriend!" Alya added, and then the girls giggled in anticipation of the romantic moment.

"Alya!" Marinette called out, as she approached the setup and started to speak to her friends.

"Hey, Marinette! Over here!" Alya said, as she waved her BFF over to them.

"So, what's going on? You said you needed my advice for something?" Marinette asked, trying to make conversation with her best friend.

"Well, we were trying to set up a scene here," Alya lied smoothly. "We wanted to see if this would work for a photoshoot for you for any of your future clothing lines. What do you think of the fabric in the branches?"

Marinette looked at the pink chiffon that was in the trees. She wanted to give Alya her most honest opinion to help the journalist.

"Well, the pink is nice, but we might want to change that up depending on the theme and color scheme of the clothes..." Marinette began.

As she was talking, though, she saw Luka out of her peripheral vision and immediately froze up, thinking, _'Crap, it's Luka!'_

"Hey, Juleka," Luka called out, as he approached the girls. "I'm here. I see you brought Rose and Alya, too."

Marinette immediately blushed at the sight of Juleka's Adonis of an older brother and squeaked out, "Oh, h-h-h-hi, Lulu, er Luka!"

Hearing his name, Luka immediately noticed that Marinette was there, too. Seeing her in the flesh, he blushed a little bit. It soon died down when he noticed that Marinette was blushing, too.

"Hi, Ma-Ma-Marinette." Luka teased, causing Marinette's cheeks to go from pink to red in a split-second.

Marinette giggled awkwardly, meanwhile Luka chuckled.

"So... You want to get down to playing a bit of music together?" Luka asked his sister. He his took his guitar case off his back and showed it to Juleka.

"Oh, um," Juleka began, her eyes darting around. "It turns out that Rose actually has a pretty sore throat."

"Y-Yeah!" Rose weakly said, forcing a cough and deliberately speaking in a hoarse voice.

"And silly me, I forgot my guitar... Looks like we can't play any music today." Juleka conceded.

"Wha?" Luka asked, lifting a confused eyebrow.

"Oh, and look at the time!" Alya said, looking at her watch. "The boss needs me back at the office ASAP!"

"And since Rose can hardly speak, I thought I'd bring her home so she could get some cough drops." Juleka quietly said.

Luka was gobsmacked that Alya, Rose, and Juleka had called him and Marinette out to the park just to up and leave.

"But what about this picnic setup?" Rose asked quietly, trying to give the impression of a sore throat. "You worked so hard on it, too."

"Good point," Alya said, gently pushing Marinette towards Luka. "All that food is real, so it would be too bad to let it go to waste."

"Yeah," Juleka agreed, following suit by giving Luka a light shove. "Since there's only two places, why don't you and Marinette enjoy it together, Luka?"

"Well, I..." Marinette began, but she paused a bit.

"Great!" Alya said. "I'd better be going."

"Same here," Rose coughed. "I need something to soothe my throat, and I... I also want to check in on the shop."

The girls immediately made themselves scarce, leaving Luka and Marinette alone together... But Alya made a point to leave her phone behind and have it play romantic, ambient music for the two of them.

Unknown to either of them, the girls had taken to hiding in a nearby bush to watch the events unfold.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Juleka asked her friends. She kept her voice down.

"Duh!" Alya replied with an eye roll. "They're a perfect match _and_ they like each other!"

The girls watched from the bushes, but Marinette and Luka could only look around awkwardly. It was apparent to them that they had come to the park under false pretenses.

Marinette herself stole glances at Juleka's brother, a subtle blush on her cheeks. Meanwhile Luka himself was wondering what to do. He merely said, "So..."

Marinette was brought out of her musings when he spoke. She murmured, "Well... Nice weather we're having, huh?"

"Yeah." Luka replied, scratching the back of his neck.

The two of them immediately looked away, both of them a bit embarrassed.

Marinette was always a little shy when it came to men she liked. In the beginning, it was no different with Adrien. Also, she would not say it out loud, but she found Luka to be _quite_ attractive. And whenever he was around, Luka would try to slip in a few flirtatious remarks and gestures. She noticed this, too. And would have flirted right back if she had the courage. She would be lying if she said she was not interested in Luka. She was just a bit timid.

Luka was examining Marinette with his eyes. Unknown to anyone else (granted it was possible his sister suspected it) he had genuine interest in Marinette. Luka thought she was adorable and funny. The fact that she was good friends with his sister was encouraging, too. He _felt_ he had a chance. He _wanted_ to ask Marinette out, but the problem was that he also was aware of her past love with Adrien. And after something as devastating as that, it would not surprise him if she committed herself to being single for the rest of her life.

But thanks to his sister's meddling, an opportunity to give it a shot had presented itself.

"Marinette, Luka, either one of you! Please make a move." Juleka prayed in a whisper.

"Hey, look!" Alya squealed under her breath.

Luka was looking Marinette in the eyes.

"Marinette..." Luka began, but Marinette put a hand up.

She started leaning in closer, her eyes focused on him. Luka blushed, wondering if Marinette was about to ask him out instead of the other way around.

The girls were watching in anticipation, waiting for the moment that Marinette asked Luka out.

Marinette's face was getting closer and closer to Luka's. The guitar-player's face was going red, and his eyes focused on the girl in front of him.

"Luka?" Marinette asked, her eyes sensual with _some_ emotion. Marinette could see her reflection in Luka's eyes, but she was not paying attention to that.

"Yes, Marinette?" Luka asked, resisting the urge to smile. Was she going to ask him out?!

Alya and company were smiling like kids in a candy store, hoping that Marinette would hurry and say something.

Marinette abruptly leaned out and then she said, "You have some sort of smear on your cheeks."

"Huh?" Luka asked, as he took out his phone and used the screen as a mirror.

"Oh, _COME ON!_ " Alya shouted from the bush. Rose immediately slapped a hand over Alya's mouth and they ducked back to hide.

Marinette heard them loud and clear, but she merely shook her head and sighed. She said to Luka, "Well this has been... Weird."

"Yeah, it has." Luka said, as he put a napkin in his pocket. He would toss it out later.

"I'd better get back home to work on some more designs," Marinette said. There was a dull ache in her heart as she said it. For some reason, she did not want to leave. "So... See you later?"

"Yeah... See you." Luka replied, albeit it was a bit sad.

Marinette turned around and started walking away. Luka himself stood there for a few more seconds. He sighed angrily. He was upset that he did not get to ask Marinette out since she had unknowingly ruined the moment. He kicked a pebble and then he began to walk home, too.

* * *

After that failed attempt, the girls were walking the streets of Paris, wallowing in disappointment.

"Do you think the mood wasn't right?" Juleka asked.

"Maybe we actually made it _too_ right," Rose replied. "I was _sure_ that Luka would ask her out. He certainly seemed upset that Marinette left."

"Doesn't matter. A fail is a fail." Alya scoffed, upset.

"Do you think that there's something else we have-" Juleka began, but then...

"Look out!" Someone shouted, then the girls ran into someone. All four of them fell in a heap. The rustling of paper and thudding noises were also heard.

"Sorry, girls," That same voice said. "You okay?"

"We're fine," Alya replied, and she recognized the voice to belong to Alix. "What about you?"

"I'm good," Alix said as she got out of the pile. "Think you can help me out?"

"Sure," Rose said, as she and Juleka started gathering up the stray books. "Wow, a lot of these books have love as the main topic."

"Well, yeah, dad needs them," Alix said. "The museum is working on a romance exhibit. It's going to explore the perception of love in different cultures around the world _and_ in different time periods, too."

"Yeah, otherwise you wouldn't really check out books like this. And what about your gym? How is that going?" Alya asked, helping her friends get all the books together.

"Going strong," Alix said. "Kim and Ondine have been helping me out."

"That's good," Rose replied, happy for her friend. "Aren't those two the cutest ever?"

"Nah, that distinction goes to Ivan and Myléne," Alix disagreed. "Sorry I couldn't meet up with you girls the other night."

"It's fine." Alya said, but then she saw that there was one book that was open. The book covered love myths from all over the world, from different eras, and with different attitudes. The page it was on was a recipe for a love potion and the story behind it.

"Hey, what's this about, Alya?" Juleka asked.

Alix turned to the girls and saw the book that Alya was holding.

"Oh, that one? Dad wanted both facts and myths for this exhibit," Alix replied. She failed to notice that Alya was smiling deviously and she took out her phone. "You know, charms, spells, potions and the like. All a bunch of crazy things that are unlikely to work."

"Love potions, huh?" Alya asked, as she covertly took pictures of the pages for the love potion. She then gently closed the book.

"Yeah. Even if they _did_ work, I seriously doubt the results would be pleasant." Alix said. This went in one through one of Alya's ears and out the other.

"Here's your book back," Alya said, as she gave the book back to Alix. "We'd better get going."

"Yeah, same here. Dad's waiting for these. See you later, girls!" Alix sang before skating off.

"Girls," Alya said, as she showed Juleka and Rose the phone. "I just found out what we're going to do spark the fire of love."

They had rendezvoused at Rose's apartment to concoct the brew. They had a small jug on the counter. Alya had uploaded the photos to her laptop so they could read it more clearly, and they were all reading over the recipe.

"Okay, some of these ingredients seem pretty... Futuristic?" Rose said aloud. "I'm sure they were impossible to find. But it's not that farfetched today. And some of them also seem to be a bit ambiguous."

"Hah, I'll bet whoever wrote this recipe up wanted to make it impossible for anyone who wasn't of high-class to make it. We can just interpret the others our own way," Alya scoffed. "Okay... First off, it says that we need honey."

"Wildflower or orange blossom?" Rose asked, bringing over two jars.

"Why not a little bit of both?" Juleka suggested.

"Okay!" Rose said, as she added one tablespoon of each variety of honey into the jug.

"Now it says, "Petals of the flower of love in the colors of the rainbow." What the hell...?" Juleka murmured, looking over the recipe.

"How about using the petals from a rainbow rose?" Rose suggested, snapping her fingers in realization. "Roses are famous for being associated with love, and they come in a variety of colors, so it wasn't all that outlandish. And now they have rainbow roses. I even have a few in stock."

"Great! Can you go get one?" Alya said, hopeful.

"You got it!" Rose said, as she then dashed out of the apartment to go to her shop to find the right rose.

"What about the other ingredients?" Juleka asked.

"It says... "Dizzy grape juice, red as blood." What could that...? Aha! Red wine!" Alya stated, reading over the next one.

"Here's some nice Cabernet," Juleka said, bringing an opened wine bottle out. "I haven't used up the whole thing."

"Nice!" Alya said, as she poured a a few ounces of the wine into the jug and mixed it and the honey together.

About half an hour later, Rose came back with the rose. They took the petals, crushed it up with a mortar and pestle and then added it to the liquid.

"The next instruction is, "Stir with a spoon of common man's silver." Any ideas, girls?" Alya asked.

"How about a stick blender?" Rose asked, taking out the stick blender from the cabinet. "This will keep the rose petals from being too chunky."

"Good call," Alya said, as Rose plugged the blender in. "Stir it quickly."

"Revving it up at high!" Rose stated. She stuck the stick head into the jug and pulsed it on high speed. The liquid turned a smooth burgundy red, but overall, the color did not change too much.

The girls looked at it eagerly. It sparkled and shimmered.

A bit later, they were in the same spot in the park. They were setting up the entire picnic scenario again, called Luka and Marinette, and were waiting for them once more. They had set up a small table. Alya decided that the best way to slip the love potion to Luka and Marinette was to incorporate it into a cocktail. The drink had a few layers of color, with the love potion in the dark red/pink layer. Other than that, it looked innocent enough.

Rose was keeping a lookout for the soon-to-be couple, Alya was placing flowers in a vase, and Juleka put the cocktails on the table. Alya put the flower arrangement between the two glasses.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Juleka asked, expressing some reluctance in this plan. "I feel a bit guilty tricking Luka and Marinette like this. Marinette hates liars, remember?"

"What's wrong? We're in consensus that Luka and Marinette are perfect for each other." Alya said, arranging the flowers.

"That's right! We just got to give them a tiny push them in the right direction," Rose agreed. "And nothing could make them happier than being with each other."

Juleka's gut was still telling her that doing this was probably not a good idea, but she conceded. Her friends' reasons seemed fair enough.

"I guess you're right." Juleka said with a shrug.

"They're coming!" Rose stated, and the girls got into position.

Marinette came upon an identical scene, but this time the small table and the drinks were included. Luka arrived, too, and he was happy to see Marinette again.

"Hey girls," Marinette said, before meeting Luka's eyes with her own. She blushed a bit and shied away a bit. "Hi, Luka."

"Nice to see you again, Marinette," Luka replied, chuckling. "So, what did you girls want to talk to us about?"

"Yeah, what's so important that you had to call the both of us out here _again?_ " Marinette asked, suspecting something was up.

"We made a cocktail with a new recipe," Alya lied, gesturing to the drinks on the table. "Juleka, Rose, and I already tried it, but we were hoping for another opinion. And we felt that you two were the perfect candidates to try it together."

While the girls were giving innocent smiles, Marinette and Luka made eye contact, both with suspicious looks on their faces. They were smelling rats.

"So, we'll just leave the two of you alone to test it together." Alya stated, and then the girls ran off to hide in the bush again.

"Hey, Juleka!" Luka shouted after his sister. Once he saw the girls were hiding, he sighed in annoyance.

"I'm sorry." Marinette said, and Luka looked back to her.

"What are _you_ apologizing for?" Luka inquired to Marinette. "None of this is your fault."

"Is it? I _did_ tell Alya and the others that I'm still single after... Well..." Marinette said, not completing the sentence. Luka knew the story, so it was pointless to reiterate.

"Yeah, I know," Luka said with a shrug. "After Adrien passed on."

Marinette nodded, and then she continued, "Right. Anyway, I told them that I'm still single, and I think they're putting us in these _awkward_ scenarios because they've decided to set me up with _you_."

Luka blushed. Had Juleka seriously picked up on his crush on Marinette?! And now he had given him another chance to make a move.

"Really, now?" Luka said, chuckling a bit. He was red in the face from embarrassment. "I wouldn't have guessed."

Marinette rubbed her arm awkwardly. She admitted to herself that she liked Luka, and now Alya had gone and made it awkward.

"Well, maybe we should just play along?" Marinette suggested, shrugging her shoulders. "These cocktails _do_ look good."

"They sure do," Luka agreed. "I don't see why not."

He hoped that maybe he could set the mood with the drinks and finally ask Marinette out on a date. If it worked, he would have to thank his sister for her "help."

"Ooh! They're going to drink it!" Alya whispered to the girls. They were on the edge of their seats, waiting for the moment that the love potion would kick in.

The pair had each picked up one glass. They shared a toast, and started to sip the beverage, completely unaware of what it had been laced with.

"Yes! They're drinking it!" Rose squealed, delighted.

After the pair swallowed their sips, they put the glasses down.

"That was pretty good," Luka commented. "It had a nice, sweet flavor and it was pretty easy to swallow. What do you think?"

"I liked it, too." Marinette replied.

The girls looked at the situation, thinking that the potion did nothing.

"What? That's it?" Juleka asked. The others were confused, too. Was the whole recipe a complete hoax?

However, they were about to be in for a surprise. Both Luka and Marinette hiccuped out heart-shaped bubbles. The hearts danced around each other before combining into one. It flashed.

Immediately, both sets of eyes turned pink for a few seconds. Luka and Marinette stared at each other, their eyes never leaving their companion.

"Yes! They're maintaining eye contact!" Rose said, on the edge of her seat.

The girls were watching with wide eyes and huge grins, hoping that the potion was doing its job. Luka was staring at Marinette in awe, as she did him. Like they were the only two people in the entire world.

"Luka?" Marinette asked, her eyes impassioned and staring into Luka's. She was smiling, too.

"Yes, Marinette?" Luka replied, returning her gaze and her smile.

Alya and the others were still eager and waiting for the big moment between Luka and Marinette.

"Would you... Would you like to... Go out with me?" Marinette chanced.

Luka smile became goofy and completely elated, and then he said, "Yes!"

 _"YES! THE LUKANETTE SHIP HAS SAILED!"_ Alya shouted, popping out of the bush. Rose got up and tried to calm her down.

The trio watched with awe and joy as they watched Luka and Marinette together. They were so happy. They left their hiding spot and approached the new couple, excited that their plan worked.

But...

"You're my sugar-wugar honey-pie music man!" Marinette cooed. Luka chuckled and blushed.

Hearing this, the girls' faces fell and they looked at each other, more than a bit grossed out. They were pretty surprised that Marinette let something like _that_ out of her mouth.

"What did she...?" Alya said, a bit surprised. Why would Marinette say something so... So... Sickeningly sweet?!

"You're _my_ sugar-wugar, honey-pie, clothing artisan." Luka said, as he gently scratched underneath Marinette's chin. He was still giving Marinette a loving gaze.

"He didn't just..." Juleka quietly stated, as the girls looked around, disturbed at the scene.

The girls examined their friends, but Luka and Marinette's eyes were swirling in pink and they failed to break eye contact.

"You're my lovey-wovey baby-waby princey-boo!" Marinette giggled, spinning on her heel and getting a bit closer to Luka.

"You're _my_ sweetie-weetie cuddly-wuddly snuggle-bug." Luka replied, before giving Marinette a wink.

 _"Luka!"_ Juleka exclaimed, pretty shocked at her brother's comments. She darted in front of him and started snapping her fingers in front of his face. No luck. He was _still_ staring at Marinette with that gross, lovesick smile. "Hey! What's happening here?"

"Um, Marinette?" Alya asked, coming over to her best friend, and waving her hand in front of Marinette's face. "You okay, girl?"

"I have a significant other! A kissy-huggy lovey-dovey guitar boy!" Marinette said.

"My sweet little ladybug!" Luka told Marinette. He sidestepped his sister and held his arms open, awaiting Marinette's warmth and closeness.

Marinette leaped into Luka's embrace, and the two of them shared a hug. Luka started to place kisses atop Marinette's forehead while she snuggled closer to Luka's chest. They were rocking back and forth, utterly overjoyed to be together. Luka was resting his chin atop Marinette's head.

The girls watched, grossed out and wondering what on earth was happening.

"I... I think we might have given them _too hard_ of a push. Maybe a rough shove, actually." Rose commented to Juleka and Alya.

"You're my sugar-pie pumpkin cutie..." Luka cooed.

The girls gagged and made grossed out noises at the sight and sound of this scene.

"Ya think?!" Alya hissed.

* * *

The girls had gone back to Rose's apartment. Alya immediately pulled up the love potion recipe to see what had happened. Yes, the girls wanted Marinette and Luka to get together, but not like _this_. These results were completely outlandish and nauseating. What could have gone south?

"I _knew_ this was a bad idea! Now look at what we've done!" Juleka ranted, as she paced back and forth in the room. She was pretty frazzled and worried. "My brother's acting like an A-list idiot!"

Rose and Alya were looking at the laptop, wondering what their mistake was.

"Maybe we overdid it on the rose petals?" Alya inquired.

"Or not enough wine? Maybe we used an expired one?" Rose suggested. She was looking over the ingredients they used, trying to narrow down and find the problem.

"Or maybe..." Alya said, looking over the screen, when her eyes landed on something. She paled. _"Oh, mon dieu..."_

Hearing this, Juleka whirled around and asked, "I heard "Oh, mon dieu!" Alya, what do you mean by that?!"

Rose and Juleka ran over to the laptop, and Alya explained, "I don't think we gave Luka and Marinette a love potion... I think what we gave them was actually a love _toxin_."

 _"Say what?!"_ Rose and Juleka asked.

"According to this, there was this 15th century Lord named Félix who created this formula - using the ingredients and technology from that time period - and gave it to this Princess named Bridgette, with whom he was head-over-heels in love. He _intended_ for this to be a love potion, but... Things hit the fan _big time_."

"Meaning?" Juleka prodded, hoping for more answers.

"There's something here about famine and drought, chaos running rampant, the nation going into complete anarchy... Okay, it looks like Félix and Bridgette were so busy maintaining eye contact and just being gross with each other. Performing their duties? Pfft, that was out of question." Alya said, and then looked to her friends, a look of dread on her face.

All three girls swallowed lumps in their throats.

 _"Just frickin' perfect!"_ Juleka shouted. "Not only have we turned Marinette and Luka into a pair of sugary junk-spewing morons, we might have _ruined their lives!_ "

She slammed her head against the counter, before loosing a groan. Alya and Rose came over to their dark-haired friend, and Rose placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You're overthinking things, Juleka. They don't have any royal duties or anything like that." Rose said, trying to placate her friend.

"True, but they _still_ have responsibilities of their own!" Juleka stated. "If we don't undo this... Oh no, Marinette will be in no shape to run her label. Luka won't be able to write any songs for the band... And then..."

Her mind started descending into a fear-fueled imagination. Marinette's business fell to the ground, everyone she employed lost their jobs, and Marinette got sued. Meanwhile, Luka was kicked out of his band and wound up homeless on the streets.

"It will be a disaster! _A COMPLETE DISASTER!_ " Juleka shouted, her eyes wide with panic and concern.

Alya, looking over the article to see if there was anything they could do, smiled and said, "Found the antidote!"

"Alya, why didn't you say so?!" Juleka snapped. "Anyway, what's the cure?"

"If we can keep Marinette and Luka from staring into each other's eyes for an entire hour without any interruptions whatsoever, the potion's curse will be broken." Alya explained.

"Only an hour? That doesn't sound too hard." Rose said, confident that they could pull it off without any problem.

The girls smiled, hoping that they could snap Marinette and Luka out of the spell before anything too insane happened.

* * *

Finding Marinette and Luka was far from hard. In fact, Alya and the others had found them at the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. They were sitting at a table, and they had a basket of fresh baguette slices with butter sitting between them. They were even sharing a smoothie that had two straws.

Luka and Marinette were resting their faces in their hands while gazing at one another romantically. They were pushing the smoothie back and forth, each one trying to convince the other to take the first sip.

Marinette's mother, Sabine, was watching and was pretty disturbed by this scene. She and Tom had seen Marinette go crazy over boys and men in the past, but _this_ was on an entire new level of insane.

"You take the first sip, snuggle-lips!" Marinette squealed, gently pushing the smoothie to Luka.

"No, you take it, pookey-cutie." Luka cooed back, pushing the beverage back to Marinette.

"No, you!" Marinette giggled, repeating the action.

"Tom and I want to see Marinette happy with a new love as much as the next person, but _this_ is ridiculous _._ " Sabine murmured. She had come over to Alya and the others. All of the women were watching the scene unfold, and they shuddering at the sight of it.

Luka and Marinette were sharing a piece of baguette. They were both holding it with their teeth and playfully doing a makeshift tug-o-war with it.

"What's gotten into them?" Sabine asked.

Rather than answer, Juleka merely shrugged. Alya and Rose mirrored the action, but they said no words.

"Well, I'm sure Luka will propose soon enough. Hopefully he and Marinette will have a real wedding, unlike with Adrien." Sabine said, shrugging it off and leaving the room.

A lightbulb went off in Alya's head and she snapped her fingers, before stating, "Wedding! That's the answer! Marinette and Luka should get married!"

"I'm not following, Alya," Juleka quietly said. "How is tying the knot going to keep them away from each other?"

"They're not _really_ going to get married. They're just going to _get ready_ to do it. After all, superstition says that it's bad for the groom to see the bride's face before the wedding, _doesn't it?_ " Alya inquired while briskly making her way to the couple.

Rose and Juleka smiled, knowing exactly what Alya was planning.

"Hey girl, how are you doing?" Alya asked Marinette.

"I have a special someone!" Marinette cooed, smiling at Luka.

" _I_ have a special someone." Luka repeated, winking at Marinette and clicking his tongue seductively.

"We can see that." Juleka deadpanned.

Marinette and Luka stood up from the table, and then they once again hugged each other. Luka was gently cradling Marinette against him while Marinette rubbed her cheek against his chest.

Alya, not sure how much more she could take, gently shoved herself between them. As a result, Luka and Marinette were reaching for each other desperately.

"Wow. The two of you are _so_ in love with each other, that - WOW - the next thing you know, you'll be _getting married!_ " Alya stated, emphasizing the prospect of marriage.

She slipped away, and then Luka and Marinette slammed into each other. Luka wrapped Marinette up in his arms and they tumbled onto the floor, with Luka on top of her.

 _"Married?!"_ They asked, surprised at the notion.

"Well, _remarried_ in Marinette's case, but still... _Married_." Alya said, smiling knowingly.

 _"Married..."_ The love-drugged pair moaned. Luka lifted Marinette up off the ground and they started cuddling again.

Juleka was about to throw up and she gagged at the sight. However, she took a deep breath and approached her brother. She gently pulled Luka away, stood him up, and began to push him to the bakery door... While he was still trying to cuddle air.

"Naturally, if you two are going to get married, then you'll want to buy a nice ring for your... *GAG* Snookie-cookie butter cutie..." Juleka said, gagging on the statement.

"RING!" Luka shouted, and then he bolted out of the bakery in the blink of an eye. Alya slammed the door shut.

"SCHMOOKIE-COOKIE!" Marinette shouted after him.

Marinette tried to chase after Luka, but Rose and Alya grabbed her by the arms to try and hold her back and keep her away from Luka.

"Don't you think you should start designing your dress, Marinette?! You'll want to show off your talent to your... Sugar-bunny cuddle-bunch." Rose said, about to puke on what she was saying.

"Good point! To the studio!" Marinette shouted before running out the door.

"Okay, now we just got to _keep_ them separated!" Alya explained as the girls ran out after them. "I'll keep Marinette busy. You two do the same for Luka!"

"You got it, Alya!" Juleka replied.

Alya took out her phone and looked at the time. It was 1:47PM. If they could keep Luka and Marinette away from one another until 2:47PM, then the whole disaster would be over.

"Once this entire mess is done, let's meet back up at Rose's place!" Alya declared, and then the girls split up.

Alya had tracked Marinette to her design studio. The raven-haired woman was furiously designing wedding dresses in her sketchbook and wondering what to do with the mannequins that she had. She wanted this dress to be a masterpiece.

"I think _this_ design looks nice!" Alya said, as she pointed to her favorite sketch in the book.

"Ooh! Alya, I knew I could count on you for helping me choose the right one!" Marinette squealed with delight.

The design was the most complex and time-consuming. Combine that with how engrossed Marinette would get with her designs, Alya was positive that this would keep Marinette distracted until the entire hour was up.

"Better get started on it!" Alya said, shoving Marinette closer to the sewing machine. Alya then ran out the door, shut it, locked it, and kept the key on her person. She found some other items to barricade the door with. A waiting room chair, a potted plant, etc. Basically, everything but the kitchen sink.

"Okay," Alya sighed, before looking at her phone: 2:03PM. "Fifteen minutes passed, only another forty-five to go."

Juleka and Rose had followed Luka to a jewelry shop. Luka was looking at the case of engagement rings with childish curiosity. Thankful that they got to him just in time, Juleka said, "Keep track of the clock. I'll keep Luka busy."

Juleka immediately stood next to her brother as he browsed the rings.

"Here's one that I think your... Sugar-lump... Would like." The jeweler said, as he brought up a heart-cut diamond in a rose-gold band.

Luka started nodding furiously, to the point where he could get whiplash. Juleka looked the ring over. She admitted that it was beautiful, and knew that seeing Luka propose to Marinette with that ring would have been great. Just not under the current circumstances.

"No," Juleka said, gently pushing it away. "Too simple."

The jeweler took the ring box and put it back. Luka's face fell, disappointed. The next ring that was brought out was a pear-cut diamond mounted on a silver band that had some smaller diamonds on it, too. Juleka liked this one, too, but this was not the time to be admiring jewelry.

"Not this one either," Juleka said, also pushing the box away. "Too many diamonds."

Juleka rejected ring after ring, citing reasons such as price, design, and others. Luka was getting frustrated and the salesman was getting a bit annoyed.

Juleka saw Rose looking at her phone, keeping an eye on the clock. Juleka ran over to the blonde before asking, "How are we for time?! I'm running out of excuses!"

"Twenty minutes to go." Rose whispered.

"Damn it." Juleka hissed.

However, when the girls looked around, they saw that Luka had vanished.

"Um, where's Luka?!" Juleka frantically asked the jeweler.

"Oh, the young sir made his purchase and departed. Something about needing to see his "darling music note."" The clerk explained.

Juleka and Rose gagged and then they bolted out the door in a panic.

"Rose, contact Alya and tell her what's going on! I'll try and slow Luka down!" Juleka said, and then the girls split up.

Rose stopped and took her phone out and texted Alya with the update.

Juleka was chasing after Luka, who had a spring in his step and a tune on his lips. Juleka saw that their houseboat was nearby, and she spotted a rope. She immediately lassoed Luka up. She started to run to Liberty with Luka in tow, and saw her mom, Anarka Couffaine, was there on the boat.

"Ahoy, mom!" Juleka shouted, as she ran up on deck, with a delirious Luka all tied up and rambling about Marinette.

"Ahoy, Juleka!" Anarka said, smiling at her daughter. "Nice of ye and your brother to come and..."

"No time to talk! Weigh anchor, _NOW!_ " Juleka shouted.

Anarka was about to question this demand, but then she saw how her son was acting and inquired to Juleka, "What's going on here, Juleka?"

"I'll explain later! Just weigh anchor and get this boat moving!" Juleka pleaded. Anarka shrugged and pulled Liberty's anchor up.

Juleka dragged Luka down into the hold, sat him down, chained him up, put on a padlock, and then she ran up the stairs before locking the door.

"That should hold him for a little bit... At least for another... Ugh, fifteen minutes!" Juleka moaned.

"Ye mind tellin' me what this is all about, Juleka?" Anarka asked.

Juleka started to explain everything from the top.

"...And now we gotta keep Luka and Marinette apart for an entire hour!" Juleka ended, before falling on her knees and gasping for air. "So _please_ keep the boat moving for fifteen minutes and then it'll be over with!"

Anarka merely gave a nod and kept steering the boat.

Alya was biting her nails, wondering how Marinette was doing.

Her phone rang, and then she saw the text alert from Rose: "Juleka's trying to slow Luka down! How's Marinette doing?"

Alya knocked on the door to the room, and asked, "How are you doing in there, Marinette?"

Silence. Alya immediately removed the barricade, unlocked the door, and saw that Marinette had climbed out the window via a fabric rope.

"NO!" Alya screamed. She ran in, looked out the window, and saw Marinette was walking down the street.

Alya furiously texted Rose: "Marinette's escaped! She's running down the street to find Luka!"

Alya dashed out of the studio and started to try and find Marinette.

"Alya!" Rose shouted as she ran over to the journalist. "Where's...?!"

"That way!" Alya shouted, and then the girls ran after Marinette. Marinette herself was skipping down the road, hoping to find her "sugar-bunch," and kiss him into oblivion.

Rose and Alya tackled Marinette down to the ground. While Marinette was struggling, Rose and Alya were beginning to panic. They were praying that Juleka was doing a better job on her end.

Juleka was guarding the door to the hold while her mother steered the boat. She was pacing back and forth, wishing time would accelerate. She was also staring at her phone. Only seven minutes left to go.

Down in the hold, Luka was struggling to break free of the chains. However, he soon saw that a bobby pin from Juleka's hair had fallen on the floor. He scooted over to it, grabbed it with his hand, and then he moved his hand to try and reach the lock. He placed the bobby pin inside the keyhole and started moving it around.

Within a few seconds, there was a clicking sound. The lock fell from the chains and Luka stood up, freed.

"Time to find _ma belle chéri!_ " Luka declared. He ran up the stairs to leave, but he saw that the door was locked, too. He smirked and took the bobby pin again.

Juleka heard rattling noises and froze up, nervous. She turned to the door and then it opened up. Luka dashed out and made his way to the railing of the boat. He was going to jump ship - LITERALLY! Juleka snagged him from behind and attempted to hold him back. Luka kept trying to break free.

And to make things worse, Juleka saw that her friends were in a dog pile with Marinette at the bottom. Rose and Alya were putting in every possible effort to keep her from moving.

"Only two minutes left!" Rose shouted as she looked at her phone.

"Mom! Turn the boat around!" Juleka hollered.

"Aye-Aye!" Anarka said with a salute, and then she steered turned the steering wheel to a hard left. But this made it so that way Luka would get _closer_ to Marinette, not further away.

Juleka's eyes widened, and then Luka broke free from her arms.

"LUKA, WAIT!" Juleka shouted, but her brother hopped onto the railing and then dove head-first into the Seine.

Luka struggled to the surface, calling out, "Sweetie-schmo!"

However, he went under again. And Juleka was frightened for her brother's safety.

"Butter-pecan cutie?!" Marinette shouted in response, hearing Luka's voice. She crawled out of her friends' dog pile and started to run down to the Seine's riverbanks.

The final minute was running down, but at the same time, Marinette and Luka were getting _dangerously_ close to looking into each other's eyes again. Marinette noticed the part in the river where Luka was flailing and trying to swim.

Juleka thought fast and threw one of the life preservers onto Luka's head to try and sink him for another few seconds.

Marinette tried to look around to see if Luka would resurface, but she found no sign of him.

"Luka-loverboy?! Where are you?!" Marinette screamed, but as she ran to the edge of the bank, her infamous clumsiness caused her to trip on a rock. And she fell right into the river.

 _"NO!"_ The women screamed. Luka and Marinette were _sure_ to make eye contact and then the spell would still be intact. Then the women would have to start all over again.

After about five seconds, Luka and Marinette resurfaced. Luka was holding onto Marinette with one arm while treading water with the other. They were breathing heavily and gasping for air.

"Come on, please! No overly-mushy, sickeningly-sweet behavior!" Juleka begged, looking at her phone's clock: 2:47PM.

She had her mother stop the boat, and Juleka immediately got off the deck. Juleka ran to the riverbank where Rose and Alya were waiting for her.

"You okay?" Luka asked Marinette.

"I'm fine," Marinette wheezed. She managed to catch her breath. "What about you?"

"I'm good," Luka said. "But... What are we doing in the river?"

"I have no idea." Marinette said to Luka. Luka brought the two of them to the bank and then they started to climb out of the river.

Realizing that the spell was over, the trio of women sighed in relief.

"Need a hand?" Alya sheepishly asked, holding out her hand to Marinette. Juleka and Rose were giving uncomfortable smiles, too.

"Yes," Marinette stated. "But would you three _care_ to explain why we're soaking wet in the river?"

"We... We gave the two of you what we _thought_ was a magical love potion, but it turned out it was a love _toxin_. Turned the two of you into a bunch of goofballs that were spouting off nothing but sugary crap." Alya said, admitting everything.

Luka and Marinette looked at each other. Their eyes were wide with embarrassment and their faces were redder than a ladybug's shell.

"We meant well," Rose said. "We wanted you to be happy with a great guy, Marinette."

"I appreciate that you care so much..." Marinette began, but Juleka put a hand up to get Marinette to stop.

"But messing around with a love potion was _definitely_ the wrong way to go about it," Juleka admitted. "We shouldn't have forced the two of you together like that, no matter _how_ well-intentioned we were."

"I'm glad you learned your lesson," Luka said, crossing his arms. He chuckled a bit. "I don't remember anything that happened, but I'll bet I looked like a fool."

"Same here." Marinette said. She had no memory of what happened either.

"No kidding. I'm just glad the two of you are back to normal." Alya said with a sigh.

Everyone was relieved that the ordeal was over.

* * *

A few days later, everything went back to normal. Marinette herself was walking home from work when she wound up near the park again. Seeing it completely empty of anything even _remotely_ romantic made her feel better.

 _'I'm SO glad Alya and company learned their lesson.'_ Marinette thought.

Since she was not paying attention to where she was going, she bumped into someone.

"Oops, sorry!" Marinette said, stumbling back. She regained her balance and was surprised that the person she bumped into was Luka.

"It's fine, Ma-Ma-Marinette." Luka said, chuckling.

Marinette looked around, as if trying to spot something. Luka noticed her behavior and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Trying to see if Alya and the others are trying to set us up again." Marinette said.

"Trust me, our encounter this time is sheer coincidence," Luka said. Marinette sighed in relief at hearing this. "But I _would_ like to talk to you. Care to take a seat?"

Marinette blushed. Shy shyly followed Luka to a nearby bench and sat down next to him.

"So... That was a pretty wild day." Marinette said, referring to when they were under the potion's influence.

"No kidding," Luka said. "Still wish I could remember what we did. I know Juleka said that I bought a ring. She returned it the next day, though."

"A ring, huh?" Marinette laughed. "I guess I was right when I assumed Juleka and the others were trying to match us up."

"I _did_ plan on thanking my sister for her meddling, though." Luka admitted with a sly smile on his face.

"Wait, _what?_ " Marinette asked, surprised at this.

"Truth is, I _was_ planning on asking you out, but then we drank the love potion and... Well..." Luka admitted. He blushed, knowing that the sentence had no need to be finished.

Marinette was looking at Luka with wide eyes.

"Listen, Marinette, I really like you," Luka confessed. "You're funny, smart, kind, beautiful... Damn, I could go on and on."

Unknown to them, Alya, Juleka, and Rose were all walking through the park together, wondering if they could meet up with Marinette for drinks later that night.

"I hope Marinette truly forgave us," Juleka said. "I know she said she did, but it still feels..."

"I know." Alya said.

"Hey, isn't that Marinette and Luka over there right now?" Rose said, pointing out the pair.

"Uh-oh!" Alya said, and then threesome ducked behind a nearby tree to listen in.

"Don't tell me that they're _still_ under that Godforsaken love potion's effects!" Juleka hissed. "I thought we cured them!"

"And I deleted the pictures from my computer, too! But let's just keep watching for now." Alya suggested.

"So... Since there's no love drug influencing us right now..." Luka began. He turned his body to Marinette and placed a hand on hers. "Marinette..."

"Yes, Luka?" Marinette asked.

The pair were staring into each other's eyes. The girls were watching from their hiding spot, nervous.

"Marinette, will you go out with me?" Luka asked.

Marinette blushed, smiled, and she told Luka, "I'd love to."

"Yes!" Luka said, sighing in relief.

Luka stood up and held out his hand for Marinette. She took it, he stood her up, and then the twosome started to chuckle.

Alya, Juleka, and Rose noticed that they were acting completely normal. They sighed in relief, happy that the potion's effects were gone.

"Allow me to walk you home?" Luka asked, winking at Marinette.

"Okay!" Marinette said. She hugged Luka's arms, and then the pair started to leave the park.

Alya, Rose, and Juleka all watched. They were happy that Luka had asked Marinette out.

"Looks like the potion _did_ do its job after all," Rose said. The others looked at her, hoping she would elaborate. "It might not have worked out the way we wanted it to, but in the end, Luka and Marinette got together, right?"

"Yeah," Juleka agreed. "I guess once it wore off, that just gave Luka the courage to tell Marinette how he felt."

"Well, all's well that ends well," Alya laughed. "But we're _never_ doing that again, okay?"

"Goes without saying." Juleka quietly stated.

Luka and Marinette were walking off into the sunset. The wind blew and Luka heard a voice whisper, _"Take good care of her, Luka."_

Luka recognized the voice to be Adrien's. Luka closed his eyes and thought, _'I will, Adrien.'_

* * *

 **And that's that! I hope you all liked what I pulled off here. Please drop a review if you can!**


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